Thursday, March 25, 2004

SPIDER-MAN 2 ON JUNE 30

Columbia Pictures will release Spider-Man 2 on June 30, it was announced at ShoWest by Jeff Blake, Vice-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and President, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group.

Spider-Man 2 had originally been slated for release on July 2.

"We decided to move the film up two days to take full-advantage of the Fourth of July holiday period," Blake said. "When you have an event movie that is so widely anticipated, it makes sense to give it as wide a berth as possible during the lucrative summer season."

During Columbia Pictures' presentation on Wednesday night at ShoWest, the world's largest convention of theater owners and operators, Blake also confirmed the studio is developing the third chapter in the continuing adventures of Spider-Man and the next installment will be released on May 4, 2007.

The presentation featured an exclusive first look at approximately 10 minutes of the film highlighting the range of emotion and drama in the movie while also introducing exhibitors to Spider-Man's new nemesis, Doc Ock. In addition, theater owners also previewed a new Spider-Man 2 trailer, which will appear in their theaters in the coming weeks. The session included an appearance by the film's stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, director Sam Raimi and producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad.

In Spider-Man 2, two years have passed since Peter Parker walked away from his longtime love Mary Jane Watson and decided to take the road to responsibility as Spider-Man. Peter must face new challenges as he struggles to cope with "the gift and the curse" of his powers while balancing his dual identities as the elusive superhero Spider-Man and life as a college student. The relationships Peter holds most dear are now in danger of unraveling as he clashes with the powerful, multi-tentacled villain Doc Ock.

PUNISHER MOVIE UPDATE

The images include a first look at Laura Herring's Mrs. Saint, who plays an integral part in Frank Castle's revenge plans.

Click on the thumbnails for larger mages.

In other The Punisher news, stars Thomas Jane and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos appeared on Access Hollywood on Wednesday, from ShoWest in Las Vages. "Two-thousand people just saw it, so that gets the blood pumping," Jane said.

Look for more on The Punisher soon here in The Continuum.

DEVIL'S DUE FOR JUNE

Devil's Due Publishing has released its solicitation information for June.

CLAYPOOL COMICS FOR JULY

BRIEFLY

Here's a first look at the promotional art to the X-Force mini-series by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld that launches in September.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Tom Wilkinson and Rutger Hauer have both joined the cast of Batman Begins.Wilkinson plays Falcone, one of the leading crime figures in Gotham City, while Hauer portrays Earle, a business contemporary of Bruce Wayne's murdered father who has designs on the Wayne corporate empire. Hauer recently played Morgan Edge in Smallville.

Vigilante will be making an appearance next on Cartoon Network's Justice League Unlimited.

Source Interlink Companies, the largest direct-to-retail magazine fulfillment distribution company and leading provider of magazine sales information and retail checkout management services, announced it has signed an agreement with Marvel Comics to distribute comic titles to specialty markets across North America via Interlink.

Source Interlink will distribute comic titles including Ultimate Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Men, Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Captain America and others. Source Interlink is the nation's largest distributor to major bookstore chains and independent retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Borders, B. Dalton Booksellers and Waldenbooks, distributing more than 4,000 titles to approximately 8,000 retail stores throughout North America.

The Wednesday, April 7 episode of The WB's Smallville will be a repeat of "Asylum."

The network has also begun running promotional spots for "Legacy," the next new episode airing Wednesday, April 14. Click on the thumbnails below for larger images.

Coming Friday: Justice League news -- and much more!!!

WBShop.com

COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links:

* For Saturday, March 20, including Marvel Comics' solicitations for June, CLICK HERE.

* For Friday, March 19, including Image Comics' solicitations for June, CLICK HERE.

* For Thursday, March 18, including Marvel Comics first looks, CLICK HERE.

* For Wednesday, March 17, including DC Comics first looks, CLICK HERE.

* For Tuesday, March 16, including DC solicitations for June, CLICK HERE.